The hockey spotlight will once again shine on Prince Albert as 16 teams will look to hoist the Senator’s Cup at the Art Hauser Centre this weekend.
The Senator’s Cup is an Indigenous senior hockey tournament hosted by the Prince Albert Grand Council. According to organizer Robynn Dorion, the event takes nearly 10 months of planning with a whole team delegated to different roles in the tournament.
Dorion says the tournament provides a chance for some of the best Indigenous players in Northern Saskatchewan to showcase their talent.
“What’s special about it is that it’s Indigenous. The Prince Albert Grand Council is one of the biggest councils across Canada. We have over 44,000 members, we have 28 communities and 12 First Nations, so that’s what we have in and then bringing the teams together like this, showcasing the Indigenous talent that we have in Saskatchewan and in the North. It’s a really big event that it’s named after our senators, the ones who have been our leaders for such a long time, who’ve held down foundations for our First Nations and for our communities.”
The tournament opened on Friday morning with the Keeseekoose Rangers defeating the Cross Lake Selects. Later in the morning, the Norway House Bruins defeated the defending champions from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.
In other action, the Pahashna Selects beat the Waterhen Blues, the Canoe Lake Young Guns defeated English River, the Round Lake Bears defeated the Cumberland Cree, and the Red Pheasant Rebels downed the Onion Lake Border Chiefs. Other results were not available by press time.
The action resumes at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with Waterhen taking on the loser of Friday night’s game between Keeseekoose and the Sandy Lake Chiefs.
The final for the 2024 Senator’s Cup will take place at the Art Hauser Centre on Sunday evening. Puck drops at 9:45 p.m.
Cash payouts for the Senator’s Cup includes $30,000 for first place, $15,000 for second, $10,000 for third and $7,500 for fourth.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
